Ильдар Хусаинов – The power of freedom (страница 16)

A key feature of entrepreneurship that isn’t always obvious is understanding the employee lifecycle within a company. In a successful entrepreneurial model, an employee's tenure is directly tied to their achievements. Ineffective employees naturally leave the system, ultimately making the company healthier and more viable. This contrasts with traditional models, where inefficient positions are often retained at a high cost.

In an entrepreneurial culture, top employees can stay for a long time because they don’t need to change jobs frequently – they can continually progress and earn significant incomes. When employees have the opportunity to earn millions, it should not come as a surprise or be viewed negatively. On the contrary, it reflects their ability to create substantial value that contributes to the overall success of the company.

Just as the government values successful entrepreneurs, companies should appreciate their highly paid employees. This is a sign of a mature system: fair, transparent, and efficient. In such a culture, a company not only retains its best talent but also shows them respect and provides support, significantly reducing turnover. Recognizing and supporting high achievements within the company is a powerful tool for managing personnel and motivating employees.

Another important aspect of entrepreneurship is being ready for constant change. We analyzed various metrics and noticed that people adapt to changes in external conditions more quickly in entrepreneurial environments than anywhere else. It doesn't matter whether someone is an independent entrepreneur or works within a corporate entrepreneurial setting; what matters here is not just the tasks completed, but the results achieved. This requires significant changes in methodologies and work technologies. Moreover, any attempt to stick to outdated processes can spoil everything.

What makes entrepreneurship special? The necessity to continuously improve. Employees also get the right to manage their work and make decisions. This addresses many issues related to project changes. For example, let me share a case involving our HR department.

When I visited one of our branches to analyze the work of the HR department, I noticed that a recruiter's base salary was 40,000 rubles, with an additional 20,000 rubles based on performance. The department was staffed by young, attractive women. I said, "Guys, we don't just need pretty faces; we need people who want to work effectively and succeed in this business." We calculated that each realtor brought into the company by a recruiter could potentially add significant value through the number of clients served and their income. I suggested a change in the system: if a realtor becomes high-performing, the HR specialist responsible for their hiring would receive a bonus of 50,000 rubles. Also the HR specialist would earn bonuses based on the interim results of their candidate.

After upcoming changes had been announced, the HR director of that division insisted that her model had been working well enough. I agreed but pointed out that such a model doesn’t help to hire "stars" as employees are brought in simply to meet hiring metrics. I suggested altering the model: start paying HR recruiters a percentage of the realtor's annual revenue if they make it to the top of the rankings. The HR director agreed but said this would require changing the entire team since different type would be needed for this task. I replied, "Then go find those people."

We changed the model and immediately noticed a sharp increase in productivity within that department, enhanced employee satisfaction, and reduced turnover. Most importantly, HR became a good "client": they began to pass on realtors only to the best managers. The recruiter said, "No, I won’t just give my realtor to anyone because I want them to work with the best manager." This created competition. Managers now had to prove their competence and strived to perform better.

This illustrates the difference between communism and socialism. In the Soviet Union, the lack of competition and entrepreneurship led to the collapse of the state, while China successfully integrated entrepreneurial forces into its systems and transformed communism into socialism. The slogan reflecting the communist ideal of production and distribution of its results is: "From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs," whereas in China, which has built socialism, they adhere to the principle: "From each according to their ability, to each according to what they’ve done."

Companies need centralized management, but always try to bring elements of entrepreneurial culture into the workflow. Many companies I’ve seen fail to fully utilize entrepreneurial potential. The distribution of power can be effectively adjusted through the addition of more proactive entrepreneurial elements. 1.

Income Distribution Principle: Employees should receive a significant portion of the value they create, and this share can vary based on their contributions.

2. Employees or partners should have the right to use resources at their discretion. In our system, a realtor can choose not to advertise or spend 100,000 rubles on advertising and potentially earn millions of rubles. It’s up to them. In typical companies, such as sales departments in property development, employees often cannot advertise on their own and must wait for the company to bring in clients. Recently, I spoke to a real estate developer and suggested empowering their employees to find clients, advertise, and earn a commission from deals. They listened and implemented this principle.

Now we see some realtors promoting themselves on social media, posting ads on platforms like Avito, hosting personal fairs, and branding themselves. This is an excellent example of an entrepreneurial approach even among developers. Some developers have sales specialists who not only don’t advertise but also don’t leave the office. They seem to be “stuck” in one place, which is not right.

3. Transparency: The success of entrepreneurship is always determined by the final result. For instance, in our company, the ultimate product of a marketer's work isn’t just incoming client traffic but net profit. We evaluate marketers based on the city’s net profit and profitability trends.

4. Decision-Making Autonomy: If an employee doesn’t have the right to make real decisions, it’s not entrepreneurship. Granting this kind of right to employees can often be challenging for managers because we tend to control rather than coordinate and develop. Coordination and development are certainly important, but entrepreneurship requires a different approach.

Imagine that your employees are not just staff but internal franchisees or partners. Your marketer isn’t just an employee; they’re the owner of their own marketing firm. How would you build a relationship with them? Or consider that your HR department is like a consulting firm you pay for services.

This approach fosters a more independent and responsible team capable of making decisions and driving the business forward.

The principle here is that employees should make decisions without constantly seeking your approval. There’s a book by Alexander Friedman titled "You or Them: Professional Exploitation of Subordinates. Regular Management for Leaders." I fundamentally disagree with the approaches outlined in it. I find it hard to accept the ideas proposed by the author. After reading it, I felt compelled to reach out to him. Although I recognize Friedman as a talented coach, consultant, and manager, his principles greatly irritated me. Reading "You or Them" prompted me to start this work. I wanted to express my belief that every person has unlimited potential. It’s important to grant people freedom, trust them, and support them in decision-making. In my view, this approach is more effective and fairer than the one Friedman suggests.

5. Problem-Solving with Money: I like the saying, "If a problem can be solved with money, it’s not a problem but an expense." I believe entrepreneurship is a wonderful activity. Personally, I’d never be able to work as a surgeon or a pilot, for example. I don’t want to take responsibility for other people’s lives. I cherish life and consider it the highest value. I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully if even one life were lost due to my actions, even indirectly. I am convinced that I couldn’t manage such systems or take on those kinds of risks.

In business, you only risk money – specifically, your own. That's your ultimate risk. This is why I believe that entrepreneurship is significantly easier in this regard than many other professional fields. Of course, I care about my employees, but I don't bear the same level of risk.

I want to share one of the most intense situations I've experienced in my life. While on vacation with friends, we decided to ride some water slides set up in the sea. We slid into the water, and when we surfaced, one of our friends was missing. At first, we thought he was just joking around, but after about 20 seconds without seeing him, we realized something was wrong.